The popularity of Office 365 Video has validated our belief that video is increasingly important for all kinds of organizations. With that validation, we are expanding our efforts in the enterprise video market by launching Microsoft Stream, a video service for both Office 365 customers and those who are not Office 365 customers.

What is Microsoft Stream?

Microsoft Stream is a new video service that uses the power of intelligent enterprise video to enable knowledge sharing, easier communication, and connectivity in a secure enterprise environment. Microsoft Stream is the successor to Office 365 Video; however, the two services will co-exist during the transition period. Both are built on Azure Media Services and use the same streaming video technology, allowing playback at scale across any device. Where Office 365 Video leveraged SharePoint Online for infrastructure and storage, Microsoft Stream is built from the ground up on top of Azure.

What are the transition plans for current Office 365 Video customers?

The transition from Office 365 Video to Microsoft Stream will be a phased approach and we will continue to make improvements, maintain, and support Office 365 Video during this time. Once we’ve incorporated the best of Office 365 Video into Microsoft Stream and have transitioned all existing Office 365 Video customers and their videos into Stream, we will retire the existing Office 365 Video portal and iOS app.

The transition from Office 365 Video will start in the second half of the 2017 calendar year, giving customers time to acclimate to the new service.

The dates, features, and specifics around eligibility may change from what’s shown below as we gain more experience with the transition and take customer feedback. Below is a general timeline of key moments, dates are approximations.

Phase 1 – Tenant Admin Opt-in (2017 Q3/Q4)

Limited to customers in specific regions who are not using the Office 365 Video REST APIs, Office 365 integrations (Delve, SharePoint Home, SharePoint mobile, Enterprise Search), and are comfortable with other differences between Office 365 Video and Stream.

Phase 2 – Tenant Admin Opt-out

Applies to all customers in all regions. If the tenant admin doesn’t opt out of the transition their tenant will be transitioned over to Stream during this phase.

Phase 3 – Automatic Transition

All remaining Office 365 Video customers will be automatically transitioned over to Stream.

How will I know when Microsoft is ready to move me?

When we are ready for the transition, we will reach out via the Office 365 Admin center and also use that channel to keep you up to date on the progress.

What will happen to my video content when it’s transitioned to Stream?

Microsoft will transition all videos, channels, and permissions from Office 365 Video into Stream. After the transition, existing Office 365 Video embed codes and links to videos will still work, redirecting to the same content in Stream.

How do I disable Microsoft Stream if I’m not ready to use it right now?

Microsoft Stream will be visible in the Office 365 application launcher and will be on-by-default at the tenant level. You can determine which users have access to Stream and which don’t have access by managing user licensing through the Office 365 Admin Center or via AAD PowerShell. For more information about limiting access to Microsoft Stream, see this article .

What new features will I have access to with Microsoft Stream, if I choose to start using Stream now?

The features below are offered in Microsoft Stream, visit our website to learn more.

Office 365 Groups support, allowing a video library for every Office 365 Group

Permissions at the video level

Sub-channels within a group

Videos may appear in multiple channels

Personal watch list to get back to videos later

Comments and likes directly on the video

Rich video description, including links directly to times within a video

Will I lose any features if I move from Office 365 Video to Microsoft Stream right now?

While there is strong feature overlap between Office 365 Video and Stream, there are some features from Office 365 Video that are not yet available in Stream. We are actively working to add the best of Office 365 Video into Stream.

These major features are offered in Office 365 Video but are currently not available in Stream:

If you use Microsoft Stream and your tenant is in a region outside of US, Europe, & APAC, your data will be stored in the nearest geographic region. You can check in Stream which region your tenant is in via the following:

In Microsoft Stream > ? in upper right corner > About Microsoft Stream > Your data is stored in

Over the course of time, we will be adding Stream instances in more regions and locations to match the set of regions supported today by Office 365 Video.

Which Office 365 plans will include Microsoft Stream?

Stream is available currently to all the same plans that Office 365 Video was available in except (Government Community Cloud, Germany, and China).

These are the plans that include Stream:

Office 365 Education

Office 365 Education Plus

Office 365 Enterprise K1

Office 365 Enterprise K2

Office 365 Enterprise E1

Office 365 Enterprise E3

Office 365 Enterprise E5

Over the course of time we will be adding Stream instances and licensing to match the existing set of regions and plans supported today by Office 365 Video.

Will Microsoft Stream meet the same compliance standards as Office 365 Video?

Office 365 Video is included in category C in the Office 365 Compliance Framework. Microsoft Stream has completed all the work and internal reviews to be included in category C. However, Stream will only be listed in the Office 365 Compliance Framework as category C when it completes external audits and receives official certifications (estimated to occur later this year). If your organization needs services that meet the Office 365 Compliance Framework category C standards, then you can continue using Office 365 Video until Microsoft Stream has received it’s official certifications.

For more information in general on the Office 365 Compliance Framework visit: